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Cleaning Up After Us

We've all seen the pictures, haven't we?

The aftermath of a hurricane, or a flood, or a tornado that rips through a town.

Where everything is destroyed, covered in gooey muck, washed away.

We see that and imagine, "What if that were my home, my town, my mess? Where would I even begin? It's too massive to even come up with a game plan for cleaning this up."

Truth is, you'd begin just like those people. One board at a time, one branch at a time, one step at a time. Messes this big don't get cleaned up in a day or a week.

But then we go back some time later and are amazed to find that things are restored, homes rebuilt, the piles of debris are gone. Life has returned to some semblance of normalcy.

We've talked last week about why the world is in such a mess. And we found that it's not God's fault. It's ours. So, when God looks down and sees this world we totally messed up, it might have looked impossible, might have looked hopeless, might have looked unredeemable. He could have just built a big wall around this world and started up something new on some other planet.

But that's what separates God from the rest of us. The mess we couldn't fix, He did. Want to know about his strategy? Amazingly, He started just like we do in cleaning up after a tornado--with one branch, one board. . .or, in this case, one man.

Genesis 11-15 might be some interesting reading in preparation.

Dwaine Darrah, McLean Campus Pastor

What Does God Want Anyway?

What does God want from us? I think what God wants more than anything is for us just to be real. As a new Christian I wanted to be perfect just like all the people who were in my little group of friends. They had everything I wanted in life: strong spirituality, a calm demeanor, real friends, an active social life, etc. The problem: I soon discovered that they weren't perfect! In fact, from that point forward my mantra when talking to people about problems in interpersonal relationships was, "People will always disappoint you." This certainly seemed easier than sitting with people and helping them through their pain and hurt. If you were one of those people that are reading this right now, please allow me this opportunity to apologize and ask your forgiveness. See, I thought this was a good answer at the time and while it is true it is way too superficial. God wants us to have authentic relationships. I sometimes don't know what to say and you know what - that's what I should say - and so should you.

The next thing I did was find an accountability partner. Now, accountability partners are good but we have to be honest with them. My accountability partner's name was Chris. Chris is a great guy but we have somehow lost contact with one another. He married Debbie and they started having babies while attending Cincinnati Bible College (it has a new name but I think this was the name at the time, the name isn't the point). Chris and I met every Saturday morning at a park in Louisville and we talked about our struggles and it was great but I have to admit I wasn't very honest with Chris. I still had thoughts and sin that I should have shared and asked his help but I was afraid of rejection. Even today my mind drifts to thoughts that I should not be having. God knows it and I think this is one of those areas where God really wants to heal me. But I can't be real unless I'm authentic. In God's word there is this wonderful story in 1 Kings 3 where Solomon (the third king of Israel) goes up to a mountain and asks God for wisdom. God is so pleased that Solomon didn't ask for riches and peace that He gives all the good stuff to Solomon anyway. The problem isn't that Solomon asked for wisdom. The problem is Solomon had committed two sins: 1) He married this Egyptian princess (and Isaiah clearly talks about forming allegiances with anyone but God a sin, Isaiah 30) and, 2) Solomon made his sacrifice on the altar of an idol on a high place (see Numbers 33:52). But what does God do - He gives Solomon what he wants and a huge bonus. Larry Osborne in his book, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God, talks about this subject at great length. He calls this a blind spot. In other words Solomon wasn't aware that this was a sin and as a result God blessed him because his heart was pure. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8, TNIV) I don't know if Solomon knew these were sins or not but his own words were, "But I am a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties." (1 Kings 3:7b) He was just being real with God and it pleased God so much that He gave Solomon everything he asked for and everything he didn't.

So, how then are we to live? What does God want anyway? God wants us to act justly (do what is right), love mercy (right behavior should compel us to help others), and to walk humbly with God (remain responsive to God). (Micah 6:8) As much as this God just wants us to be real with Him and real with people.

Creed Branson, NL Executive Minister

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What's Wrong With the World Today?

The news from Jackie's hairdresser yesterday was depressing. Brain dead??

I hadn't heard it from anywhere else, and I was an intelligence analyst. I'm supposed to know things.

So, it probably wasn't true.

But it came from a hairdresser!!

These gals know almost before it happens. So, could it be fact?

Sure enough. I pick up the paper today and see that, yet again, hairdressers are pretty much clued in to everything.

Natasha Richardson, esteemed stage and screen actress, wife of Liam Neesom, dead at 45. From a fall on a bunny slope.

That's right. . .a bunny slope.

Somehow, we just know, don't we, that this isn't right? We know Liam knows it isn't supposed to be this way. We know Natasha's two kids know it isn't supposed to be this way. How to make sense of something like this?

And for those who believe in God, there's this tendency to look toward the sky and ask: "What are you thinking? Are you even thinking? Are you aware of what's going on down here?"

Yeah, good questions. Are there good answers?

We'll give it a shot Sunday at 11:00 at 1988 Kirby Road, McLean. The topic? Why is the World So Messed Up? Perspective is everything.

You can take a pass on this one, however, if nothing bad has ever happened, or will ever happen, to you or to anyone you know. I'm sure we'll do a message on "Being in Denial" soon.

Dwaine Darrah, Westmoreland Campus Pastor

March 18 Thoughts

On Wednesday mornings I meet with a group of guys and we are studying 1 Peter,. The stuff below is today’s lesson. I thought it worth sharing.

Peter tells us, and I paraphrase, as we prepare our minds for action and live our lives in reverence to God we are to be holy. Holiness is to be set apart for God, which is often confused with perfection. In the Greek, perfection means to be in a constant state of conforming to Christ. And we are to rid ourselves of all intentional sin, which leads to deceitfulness, envy, and legalism. (1 Peter 1.24-25, again a paraphrase) This wrong thinking can be replaced with something altogether Christ-like: preparing our minds to fall in love with what God has done for us in Jesus. Once we have this love we see Christ and his sacrifice more clearly. The metaphor Peter uses here is to crave Christ: in our case, as the first century Christian, Christ’s manifestation in our lives through the Spirit but also through the word. (For more read John 1)

As we see Christ’s manifestation in our life through the actions where we discover God we begin to love his presence and we see him everywhere.

This process is exactly what all Christians are to experience as they become mature in Christ:

1. New Discovery: We are awakened to God
2. New Connections: to God and to people. We are changed to move toward God
3. New Meaning: we see God at work everywhere. Illumination
4. New Life: We are at peace with God willing to take any step He has for our life. We are at one with God

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2.1 that we will grow up in our salvation. Implicit in this statement is the fact that there is a process. As we taste what is good (Christ) we grow in Christ.

Peter then tells us as we move toward Christ and take on his character we will be transformed into a priest able to make sacrifices to God and humanity out of our need for gratification to God. In other words we can’t help but give back to God out of the fullness that He has given us. Peter even compares our walk to a house being built. This house if built properly will be made true. The one who trusts in Christ will never be put to shame. To those who do not believe Jesus will become a stumbling block. A person cannot walk around Jesus if they have been exposed to the truth. Rather, they will stumble or trip over the facts.

Peter states in 1 Peter 2.9 that we are a “special possession” so we may declare God’s greatness but only after we are called out of the darkness; again implicit with a process. We are 1, chosen; 2, brought out of darkness; 3, made holy; and 4, that we may declare God’s praises! Exactly the process described above. How is all this possible? Verse 10 states, “because now you have received mercy,” if you have accepted Jesus.

Creed Branson, Executive Minister

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Does it Really Take a Village?

Everyone's terrified of the monster lurking right outside the house, in the dark, now tromping on the front porch, now rattling the door handle. Everyone knows it's there, and you're trembling with fear even as you know you have want to remain absolutely still. . .try not to breath. . .if you could stop your heart from beating, you would. . .because surely it can hear you. . . .OHMYGOSH, I'M GONNA DIE TONIGHT. . .

This, a scene from M. Night Shyamalan's movie, The Village. It's from 2004, so if you wanted to see it, you already should have, so let's blow the ending, shall we?

THE WHOLE THING'S A SCAM. Well, sort of. There is a monster. But it's the leadership of the village, who has invented this whole "religion" to keep the sect together. And they are not above killing someone to keep the charade alive.

You know, this sounds farfetched, but it's what a lot of people think of Christians who yap on about how the Bible is God's Word and use it to keep people in line. I mean, after all, we know the BIble is full of errors and contradictions, right? And that supernatural stuff. What's the deal with that? Great for a Tolkien fantasy. But, come on, it's the 21st Century already. Please, get a grip.

Hey, here's a thought. What if you're wrong? What if you're actually in the village, and you're being scammed? What if the Bible really is God's Word and can be trusted? Couldn't be true, right? Yeah, cause some freakin' nutty professor told you otherwise when you were in college, and we know that all professors have all the truth on all things and never make mistakes and never mislead anyone...............................................Ooops.

So, here's our deal. We're not looking to prove anything to you on Sunday. Just want you to think for yourself. But, hey, if that's too scary for ya, just join the people in the movie--stay in your village, man.

1988 Kirby Road, McLean, VA. . .11:00. The sun'll be up, so it'll be safe to go outside.

For folks who want to, ponder 2 Timothy 3:13-17.

Dwaine Darrah, New Life at McLean Pastor

March 11

It just seems weird to me that in order for man to have a deeper understanding of God he must first know himself. It seems counter-intuitive to me for some reason yet all my reading on spiritual formation makes it quite clear that God wants us to know our true self. There is a verse in Isaiah that makes it abundantly clear that we are to know our true nature..." Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, 'I am and there is none besides me'...a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you." (Isaiah 40.8a, 11b) This is saying that we are to really understand our true nature with respect to God's nature.

There are so many people in the world who see their behavior in light of the world's standards. God issues a strong warning to those people that a catastrophe is coming. So God stands at the door and knocks and the wise let Him in. God pounds on the door for those who will not listen; and He suddenly knocks the door down. And even after all this God allows us to come to Him for forgiveness and He gives it out of love. If you are at a place right now where God is knocking then be wise and let Him in. If God is knocking and wants you to know the true nature of your current behavior then, before catastrophe ensues, listen and understand that God just wants you to count on Him and not some misplaced pleasure. God tells through Jeremiah that we have committed only two sins, 1) we have forsaken God, and 2) we have replaced God with something else.

This probably sounds more like a sermon than a blog but I really feel like God placed this on my heart today for someone...maybe it's just for me.

Creed Branson, Executive Pastor

"Why is There Evil in the World?" Continued...

God gives people an opportunity to change — but even when He knows they won't — He doesn't take them out ahead of time. In waiting, He shows the whole world His patience, justice, and foreknowledge.

People do not appreciate this about God. Because once everything unfolds, they want to know why God didn't intervene and keep it from happening. Think about it, though, if God went around intervening before anybody did evil, then people would say: “Why did God take Frank out? He wasn't such a bad guy...”. Lucky for God, His main goal in this life is not to keep us happy and informed.

I love that this verse is in here. I think this reference to God waiting for the Amorite's sin to reach “its full measure”, actually answers a lot of questions we might have as we look through history. For instance: “Why did God allow Hitler to wreak such havoc?” I'm not going to claim to know the answer to that question in full, but I think there are a few things we can't miss here — but lets just look at one: if God had taken Hitler out early on, the world would have never known the extent of sin that mankind is capable of. (As Dr. Phil would say: “If you don't acknowledge the problem, you can't fix it.”) It is only when the world sees how broken it really is, that they have the chance to see their need for a Savior. And us getting that, is actually God's goal for us in this life.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3: 9)

God is. God is great. God is good... and His answer to evil in this world is — The Savior — who did the perishing for us.

From Guest Blogger, Lisa Jones.

Why is There Evil in the World?

Brett's sermon on Sunday got me thinking. I really appreciated the conversation of : “God is. God is great. God is good...so why is there evil in the world?”

It reminded me of a strange little verse in Genesis 15: “In the 4^th generation your descendants, (Abraham), will come back here, (to take the Amorite's land) for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (v.16)

What? God was telling Israel they were to take the Amorites land...but not yet...because these people haven't gotten as bad as they're gonna get yet?! Wouldn't now be a really good time to go in and take the land before they get r e a l l y bad? Why would God wait?

The beautiful thing about God, is that He doesn't think at all like us (Isaiah 55:8-9). And much of the time we won't know why He does what He does, but some of the time, we can see little pieces of the puzzle fit together as only God can fit them—and that's our chance to think a little bit more like Him. Which can only be a good thing, right?

Read more on this topic tomorrow from our guest blogger, Lisa Jones.

Brett's Banter

Consistent Sunday morning “Wow” either sets the pace, establishes momentum & expectations for everything else that happens in the church. I’ve known seasons when that Mo is working for us. It feels like the wind is at our backs. I’ve also known seasons when that wind is against us. Ugh.

This morning I brainstormed a list of essentials for creating an atmosphere where God is honored and His presence is powerful.

• Prayer – much prayer, much power; no prayer, no power
• Consistent Biblical Teaching – Cool & creative are great. The promise is that God’s Word will not return without doing its work. But, the Bible must be taught powerfully every week. Consistent teaching creates expectation.
• Connections – a “Family Reunion” feel is fine. But, to create “Wow” for people far from Christ, we must be intentional about helping first timers feel like family.
• Great First Impressions – Welcome area: does it exist to give information and a cup of coffee, or to start conversations with newcomers? Look at every table, every piece of paper and ask, “How does this create a ‘Wow’ for the newcomer?”
• Engaging Music – Is the music quality a step down from what newcomers were listening to in their cars? “Wow” worship is not measured by the performance of the band, but by the quality of music that makes it hard for people not to sing to and experience God.
• Surprising Creatives – People engaging God are set up to be moved emotionally—whether to laughter or tears. Are people moved?
• Excellence From Start to Finish – Excellence means producing an excellent result. Excellence means not settling for “my best effort,” if it is not producing consistent “Wow” results.
• Transformation – No one can genuinely encounter God and leave unchanged. Bottom line: Are people being challenged? Are people taking next steps? Are lives, homes, marriages, and communities genuinely transformed?

Dwaine's Digs

Ok, You've Got Some Questions.

Bart's just out of college. Got a nice job working downtown. The office also hired Sandra, and Bart's already got his antennae up on her. He's not exactly sure what makes her tick, but she seems really nice, and their conversations so far have only enticed him to want to check her out a little more thoroughly. Only thing weird up to now is that she's got this Bible on her bookshelf. What's the deal with that?

She doesn't seem like the wackos who picketed the Oscars, and she's not tried dropping Bible verses on him or asked him if he knows where he's going after he dies. So, what's her shtick? Bart's kinda wishing there was a place he could go to get some insight into what Sandra's all about, but, you know, without sounding "interested" in that religion thing. Where could such a place be?

Good for Bart, this fun church is just starting a series of messages that cover the basics of Christianity. And, to top it off, the series kicks off with funny man, Tim Jones, talking about the "c" word. Ok, maybe that's a little mystifying, but it's on creation, or more specifically, does this goofy world we live in suggest there might have been some kind of intelligent design behind all that we see.

Not asking Bart to buy into the concepts, but if he's going to get closer to Sandra, he needs at least to get a clue on her world view, and this is a safe way to do that without risking too much. At least he'll sound knowledgeable when he's talking to her. Who wants to look stupid, right?

We kick off at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday at 1988 Kirby Road in Mclean, VA.

Oh, and we'll have coffee and snacks there. No question about who makes that stuff.

We do!!

Finally, if you're a regular at Moland, you might check out Job 38-39.

Chad's Chatter

Companies rise and fall with leadership. As we look at the mess we are in economically right now, I see 2 types of leadership. One is making a difference and the other isn't. Well, it is but only for some people. Leadership falls under two categories - Cause leadership and Effect leadership.

Cause Leadership is what most people want to be a part of. When there is this kind of leadership, we work together towards a cause, to make something happen, to impact a community. We lead to help others make a difference. People want to be a part of this type of leadership. It makes us feel connected and useful in the world.

Effect Leadership is what we tend to see in many businesses and probably percolating in most of our souls waiting to come out. The impact is all about what effect will this have on my bottom line, or in my pocket book, for my circle of friends. Many of us fall into this type of leadership easily. It's all about power, greed, self preservation. IE, why our economy is hurting right now.

So, how are you leading in your organization, company, ministry area? Are you working to lead towards a Cause or are you working to lead for your effect?

Josh's Jive

The other day I was reading 1 Corinthians 4. I like 1st and 2nd Corinthians... I think because Paul is so sarcastic in these books. But I came across a verse that I had never taken notice of before. Verse 20 says this, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." It raised several questions for me which I will now recount for you:

- What does the power of God do in relation to the kingdom of God?

- What does it mean for me to be tapped into the power of God?

- What does it mean for me to challenge the church (our volunteers, small group leaders, and the people I am discipling) to be about power and not talk so that we can bring the kingdom of God here now?

How would you answer these questions? Let me know by posting a response here or by shooting me an email at Joshb@newlife4me.com.